


The Highland Castle Job

by benjaminrussell



Category: Leverage
Genre: Heist, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-26
Updated: 2019-11-26
Packaged: 2021-02-25 20:33:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21561505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/benjaminrussell/pseuds/benjaminrussell
Summary: The Leverage trio’s latest job takes them to Scotland to infiltrate a castle, however the con doesn’t quite go smoothly...
Relationships: Alec Hardison/Parker/Eliot Spencer
Comments: 14
Kudos: 64
Collections: Leverage Reverse Bang 2019





	The Highland Castle Job

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Leverage Reverse Bang 2019, inspired by Steverogersisbi’s art.
> 
> Thanks to [ziazippy5379](%E2%80%9C) for letting me bounce ideas off them and Steverogersisbi for beta-ing (as well as creating the awesome artwork)!

“Run!” Parker hissed at Hardison, shoving him out of the room before her. The sound of hurried footsteps was getting ever closer, and while they’d wordlessly chosen to cut it close in order to complete their mission, they now had the jewel that was their goal and it was now or never if they wanted to not be caught red handed. Parker swept Hardison’s lock hacking device off a table as she passed and made it vanish within one of the many secret pockets in her dress, before chasing her partner down the corridor in the opposite direction to the one the security guards were coming from. Hardison skidded a little as he took the corner too quickly, but he caught himself and kept running, occasionally trying door handles as they passed. In this part of the castle, all the rooms were locked down and even if they could get into one, they’d just end up cornered which they clearly didn’t want, so Parker just nudged him to keep going, pausing herself just long enough to tug off her heels. She’d already ditched the long tulle skirt that had transformed the form fitting mini dress she wore into a flowing ball gown fit for the gala happening below, because as soon as she and Hardison had started sneaking around the old castle, she’d known she’d need her movement not to be restricted.

“We could really use your help here, Eliot,” Hardison said into the comms as they ran through the private portrait gallery they’d been in earlier.

“3rd floor, northwest corner,” Parker added, because the old building was like a maze and he might struggle to find them otherwise.

“ _Excuse me, I’ll get us more drinks_ ,” Eliot’s voice filtered through the comms, making his excuses to the mark so he could get away without rousing suspicion. Parker and Hardison continued running, looking for a staircase that would take them downstairs back to the gala as it would be easier to lose the guards in a crowd.

“ _Don’t be ridiculous,_ ” The mark said, only just audible through Eliot’s comms, “ _That’s what we have wait staff for._ ” Then there was some muffled speech in the background and a muttered curse from Eliot, and then his southern oil tycoon persona was back, thanking the mark as Parker and Hardison ran for their lives. They finally found a staircase, hidden behind a large ostentatious tapestry, but as soon as they pulled back the fabric they could hear the sound of hurried footsteps coming up it.

“Shit, more guards,” Hardison swore, looking around wildly as if a solution to their problem might present itself. The footsteps from behind them were getting even closer and the guards coming up the stairs were almost on them, so Parker quickly weighed up their options and pushed Hardison towards the door at the end of the room.

“In here, quick,” She said, already reaching out to try the handle. It was locked, but thankfully just by an old rim lock that barely even required her lock picks to open. Pulling the door open just enough for the two of them to slip inside, she closed it quietly behind them, re-locked it, and gestured for Hardison to be quiet. It wouldn’t deter the guards for long, but a few extra seconds could be what they needed to find a better solution or for Eliot to slip away from the mark. She looked around the room they now found themselves in to see a study, the walls lined with bookcases and filing cabinets. If they’d been after information, then this would have been the place to be, but as it was it was severely lacking in hiding places.

“C’mon El,” Hardison whispered into the comms, more for himself Parker thought than thinking Eliot need any extra encouragement. They both knew the third member of their trio would be there as soon as he could without breaking cover, and also that if Parker made the call, he’d be there sooner, cover be damned.

“ _I’m going to use the restroom; I’ll be right back,_ ” Eliot said, this time not giving the mark any time to protest before her voice was swallowed up by the general noise of the crowd. Parker didn’t let herself relax though, and she was right not to as only moments later there was the clear noise of the guards outside the study.

“Out the window!” She hissed to Hardison, seeing no other option. He gave her a look that clearly asked if she was crazy, but he followed her instructions anyway, cautiously peering out of the curved recess with the wide windows that were already pulled open.

“It’s a long way down,” He stated, his voice telling her how terrified he was even if his words didn’t. Parker didn’t push him because this time they had no harnesses, and instead gripped his shoulder firmly.

“It’s just until Eliot gets here,” She murmured, hoping it was reassuring. Whether or not the words helped, Hardison trusted her enough to do as directed despite his fear and carefully climbed out of the window, gripping the stone sill tightly. Parker waited until he’d manoeuvred out of sight and then slipped out of the window herself, splitting her attention between listening to the sounds of the guards unlocking the study door and keeping an eye on Hardison. There was also a small part of her brain focused on holding on, but she was well practiced at free climbing and could hang here for hours if needed. The door opened and the sounds of the guards tramping around the room filtered out to where the two of them were hidden, but thankfully none of them looked out of the window, presumably assuming there was no way the thieves could have gotten out that way. At least without plummeting to their deaths, seeing as the loch below was a _very_ long way away. The guards walked around the room for a few moments, poking in the corners that could potentially hide someone, before leaving again, locking the door behind them. Parker slowly poked her head up above the windowsill to double check the coast was clear, and then relayed that to Hardison.

“We can go back in now.”

“Thank fuck,” Hardison said, relieved. His voice was strained, reminding Parker that he wasn't nearly as used to this sort of thing as she was. He reached up to grab the windowsill, but then his fingers slipped and there was a heart stopping moment for both of them as he began to fall. Hardison cried out at the same instant that Parker shouted his name, which caused Eliot to pipe up on the comms, also sounding concerned.

“ _What’s happening? Where are you?”_

Parker ignored him for the moment, focusing on reaching out to catch Hardison before he properly fell as well as not losing her own grip at the same time. She grabbed hold of Hardison’s arm causing them both to swing wildly, but she gritted her teeth and clung to the windowsill one handed with a vice like grip. Hardison’s pulse was beating wildly in his wrist, but he was doing a good job of remembering all the tips and tricks she’d taught him over the years and soon managed to slow their pendulous movement.

“Good news,” He said weakly once they’d both stilled, “I’ve still got the jewel. Just about.” Parker glanced down and spotted the emerald pendant dangling beneath them, the chain hooked around Hardison’s ankle and swaying slightly in the breeze. They were safe (relatively) for the moment, but it definitely wasn’t going to last.

“You need to grab hold of me so I can use both hands to hold us up,” Parker told him softly after a few moments, still ignoring Eliot calling their names over the comms. Hardison needed to be more secure before she devoted her attention to her other partner.

“Just promise me no more climbing out of windows,” Hardison replied, carefully wrapping his free arm around Parker’s legs before taking a deep breath and saying, “Ok, let go.” Parker released her grip on his wrist, and then at the same time she grabbed for the windowsill as Hardison hugged her legs with a death grip. They swung a bit again but both their grips held and Parker allowed herself a brief sigh of relief before finally answering Eliot.

“We’re dangling from the windowsill in the study,” She told him simply, not wasting breath on an explanation. That could come later once they were safe (she refused to consider any other outcome), “We need your help.”

“ _I’m on my way,”_ Eliot replied immediately, before the faint sounds of a scuffle told her he wasn’t even trying to be sneaky anymore.

She didn’t tell him that she wouldn’t be able to hold on for much longer.

**A couple of hours earlier…**

The gala was in full swing by the time Parker, Hardison, and Eliot arrived, meaning there wasn’t much attention on them as they entered. Just as they wanted it. They gave the names of their aliases to the man on the door who quickly checked them against the guest list, gesturing for them to enter after a couple of seconds. Hardison had hacked the list as soon as they knew they needed to be at the gala, so there’d been one less thing to worry about whilst planning the rest of the con. The three of them were all dressed to the nines for the occasion – Hardison in a tailored black suit with a deep red shirt; Parker in a figure hugging pink minidress completed by a pouffy tulle skirt that transformed it into an approximation of a ball gown; and Eliot in traditional highland dress, kilt and all. He’d complained about it when they’d got their outfits, and again when they were getting ready that afternoon, but Parker was convinced he didn’t actually mind it that much. The fact he was allowed to have a dagger in his sock was sure to have sweetened the deal for him, too.

Once they were inside and had each accepted a flute of champagne on entry, Eliot strolled into the midst of the party, already acting the part of the rich oil tycoon ‘embracing his Scottish heritage’ while Parker and Hardison stuck to the edge of the party, blending in as they got their bearings. They went with the flow of the crowd, listening to people’s conversations and occasionally making small talk, all the while discretely surveying what security measures they could see. Other than the number of security guards positioned at the edges of the areas open to party guests, nothing much appeared to have changed from when they’d done their recon earlier in the day disguised as catering staff. Then when they were confident that nothing unexpected had changed, she and Hardison slipped away, ducking through gaps in the security net to get into the private part of the house.

They’d been unable to find out the location of the jewel, neither from Hardison’s extensive scouring of the internet and the mark’s network, nor from the conversation Eliot had had with the mark when setting up his cover, so they were having to resort to a physical room by room search of the castle. Eliot would keep an eye on the guests and distract the mark if and when needed, while Parker and Hardison performed a top to bottom search. The only thing they were confident about was that the jewel was definitely in the building.

Most of the top floor had been searched when Eliot was approached by the mark, their conversation filtering through the comms.

“ _What’s a handsome man like you doing here alone?”_ The mark asked, in Parker’s imagination leaning in close so she could pretend to fix Eliot’s lapel and run her hands over his chest. Parker found herself balling her fists at the thought, despite not having any real reason to think it was actually happening. Eliot was theirs!

“ _Oh, you know, I’ve got a couple of pretty little things back home, but I’m here to have some fun,_ ” Eliot replied, flirting right back. Hardison choked on thin air at Eliot’s words, which distracted Parker from her vaguely murderous thoughts and was also pretty funny to watch.

“Did Eliot just call us ‘pretty little things’?” Hardison turned and asked Parker, disbelievingly. Eliot might be in character and his wording reflected that, but the affection in his tone when he mentioned them was clear, at least to her.

She nodded with a grin, and then because she knew it would fluster Eliot (but not enough to blow his cover), said, “Don’t worry, Eliot, you’re pretty too.”

A bit later they entered a long hallway that had portraits at regular intervals, starting with the current owner and getting older as they progressed down the corridor. There was nothing especially of interest however until Parker spotted a suit of armour standing at the midway point. Hardison had continued on, not immediately noticing that she’d stopped, and before he realised and turned around, she had the sword out from its grip. She lifted it above her head and pretended to attack him just as he turned to look where she’d gone. He gave a quiet yelp and immediately glanced around to check the noise hadn’t attracted unwanted attention, as Parker stepped backwards so he was out of range and then swung the blade to see how it handled. She started fighting an imaginary opponent, hacking and slashing and darting back and forth, really getting into it for several minutes until she noticed Hardison looking stressed with an expression that hinted he may have called her name several times. She lowered the sword and gave him a cheeky grin, acting as if nothing wrong or unusual was going on.

“Please put the sword back before we get caught,” He pleaded, eyes darting down the corridor every few seconds.

Parker was always alert and so would have noticed at the first sign of footsteps, but she put the sword away anyway and gave an over exaggerated sigh, “Okaaaaayyyyy.”

They did come close to getting caught half an hour later, but thankfully they were close to the main hall so it was easy to pretend they’d just snuck out for a bit of privacy. Parker had picked a lock and they were about to sneak inside to search the room when they caught the sound of heavy footsteps approaching them from around the corner. Reversing the situation from when they conned Blackpoole with the David maquette, Hardison pulled Parker close and kissed her, backing himself up against the door at the same time as he pulled it closed again. Parker got onboard immediately and pressed against him, cupping the back of his head in one hand while the other snuck underneath his suit jacket to dishevel his shirt and pull his tie skew-whiff. This time around there was a lot more feeling in the kiss, which of course didn’t hurt when selling it to the guard who rounded the corner a few moments later. He shouted when he saw them and then immediately looked awkward as Parker peeked at him from the corner of her eye.

“Excuse me, you can’t be back here,” The guard said uncomfortably. Parker and Hardison separated, acting reluctant to do so which wasn’t very difficult, and then pretended to be embarrassed about the situation.

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” Parker giggled, playing up to the blonde bimbo stereotype, “I just can’t keep my hands off him. It’s the suit.” Then she winked at the guard and added, “And the champagne.”

“Give us a moment to make ourselves presentable again, and we’ll go straight back to the gala,” Hardison said, smiling a smug smile that made him look like the cat that got the cream. At least part of the act worked because the guard immediately nodded and turned on his heel, heading back the way he’d come.

After that, the search went smoothly even if it took quite a while to find the jewel, but they eventually hit pay-dirt, finding a small vault hidden behind a bookcase on the 3rd floor. There were a few other valuable items in the vault as well, but they stuck to their target and worked quickly to break through the several layers of security. Parker examined the door for any sensors they could trip by opening it, while Hardison used his card reader to hack the electronic lock, and soon they were inside. The necklace the jewel hung from was in a pressure sensitive glass case, but it was a rather basic system so it took Parker an embarrassingly short period of time to circumvent it and retrieve the necklace. Hardison slipped it into his trouser pocket as she carefully settled the case back again, and then they took a moment to shoot each other triumphant grins.

“We’ve got the necklace!” Hardison exclaimed for Eliot’s benefit, stilling as they once more heard the sound of footsteps approaching. The two of them glanced at each other again and wordlessly hurried to lay the evidence that would make the theft look like an inside job, cutting it close to finish the con because it would all be for nothing if the police didn’t think the mark was behind it. While Parker busied herself with the physical bits of the trail, Hardison hurriedly fiddled with the wiring in the box on the wall that was the hub of the room’s security system. She heard a whispered curse as he made a mistake in his haste, but she didn’t turn to look – finishing her own task was more important. Then as soon as they’d planted the last piece of the puzzle, Parker pushed Hardison towards the door and hissed, “Run!”

**A while later…**

When Parker was beginning to worry she wouldn’t be able to hold on for much longer, running footsteps and then a quiet but distinctive noise came from the other side of the door. The door itself swung open, and then there was the sound of lock-picks being yanked out of the lock with such force that it made Parker wince. Before she could worry that it was possibly anyone else, Eliot was at the window and leaning forward to grab Parker’s wrists. His hair had come loose and he’d lost his suit jacket somewhere along the way, and she’d rarely been so thankful to see him.

“I’ve got you,” He murmured, just loud enough for both her and Hardison to hear, and then began slowly pulling them up. Parker helped how she could, and as soon as her waist was level with the windowsill, she folded in half so she could reach the floor, freeing Eliot up to reach down and grab Hardison. Getting him to let go of her legs again was another difficult transition, but of course Eliot didn’t let him fall. In fact, once Eliot had a firm grip on Hardison’s right arm, Hardison felt confident (foolhardy?) enough to carefully reach down and retrieve the necklace from around his foot before Eliot pulled him up. The two men collapsed on the floor next to where Parker was now sat leaning against the wall, the necklace spilling into her lap, and they all took a moment to reassure themselves that they were all okay. No-one needed telling how close that had been. Hardison had ended up lying half on top of Eliot, and as soon as he’d got his breath back, he leant in and pressed a messy kiss to Eliot’s lips, whilst one hand reached blindly for Parker, finding her thigh and squeezing firmly. She rested her hand on top of his as she watched Eliot wrap his arms around Hardison and return the kiss.

“Let’s get out of here,” She said softly after a minute, knowing that would only be a matter of time before the guards returned, especially if they found their colleagues who Eliot had knocked out. She tucked the jewel down the front of her dress and then they fled the castle, escaping just before the security perimeter closed up.

Hours later, when they were back at their temporary safe house and the final part of the con had been set in motion, Hardison piped up, “We need Sophie and Nate back. There’s not enough of us to pull off cons like that safely.”

“Dammit Hardison!” Eliot shot back, “They’re retired. We can’t ask that of them.”

“You say that like they’re not running rings around Sterling still,” Hardison retorted. Eliot snorted, probably imagining Sterling being shown up, but then Hardison deflated a little and continued, “But yeah, I know.”

Seeing as the conversation had become adjacent to a topic Parker had been turning over in her head for a while, she came over to perch on the back of the sofa, nudging Eliot’s shoulder with her knee, and stated, “We should recruit new people.”

“Is there anyone you have in mind?" Asked Eliot. Parker looked at him, and knew he understood.

"I have an idea," she replied, smiling. She couldn't wait to get started.


End file.
